Ant-trap.



'PATBNTBD MAY 26, 1903."

W. F. FINLEY.

ANT TRAP.

APPLIOATION 21mm SEPT. 6. 1902.

10 MODEL.

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UNlTE STATES Patented May 26, 1903. PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM FREDERICK FINLEY, OF DENISON', TEXAS.

ANT-TRAP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 729,053, dated May 26,1903.

I Application filed September 631902. Serial No. 122.362. (N0 model)State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Ant-Trap,of which thefollowing is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in.

ant-traps.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction ofant-traps and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient one ofgreat strength and durability adapted to be placed over an ant-hill andcapable of capturing the ants in the bill as they leave the same andalso of catching the outside ants as they attempt to enter the hill.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of an ant-trapconstructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a transversesectional view. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view. Fig. 4is avertical longitudinal sectional view.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the draw- 1ngs.

1 designates a casing,preferably in the form of a box, constructed ofsheet metal or other suitable material and provided with a hinged lid orcover 2. The lid or cover, which is secured by a hook 3, an eye 4, orother suitable fastening device, is preferably provided with an openingcovered by reticulated material 5, such as wire-gauze, to afiord lightfor the interior of the trap. The bodyvof the trap is provided with sideand end flanges 6 and 7, and it has a central entrance-opening 8, fromwhich depend side and end flanges 9, the said flanges being designed tobe embedded in the earth around an ant-hill.

In practice the trap is placed over an anthill, the flanges 8 and 9being embedded in the ground and the top of the hill being arrangedwithin the centralentrance-opening, so that ants leaving the ant-hillare compelled to enter the trap.

The ant-trap is provided at the central bottom opening with an entranceadapted to permil? ants to readily enter the trap and capable ofefiectually preventing them from leaving it. This bottom entrancecomprises two side walls 10, having tapered end portions 11, connectedby end plates 12,- arranged vertically and provided with centralhorizontal slots 13. The sides 10, which are preferably constructed ofsheet metal, are also connected by inclined bottom portions 14 andoppositely-inclined top portions 15, the top and bottom portions beingconverged toward the end plates and being connected with the same at thetop and bottom of the slots. The inclined top portions 15 are preferablyformed integral with each other and are connected by an intermediatehorizontal portion 16, and the said top and bottom portions arepreferably constructed of wire-gauze or other suitable material adaptedto afford a lighted entrance and at the same time capable of pre ventingants from passing through the interstitial openings. The inclined bottomportions 14 extend upward from the ends of the bottom opening 8 to thelower edges of the slots 13, and the wire-gauze forms a series ofprojecting points 17 at the top and bottom of the slots, which willefiectually prevent the ants from returning after they have passedthrough the said slots and left the same. The

smooth vertical end plates also prevent the ants from crawling upward tothe slots, as they are spaced from the bottom of the trap, and theydepend from the upper edges of the bottom portions 14, so that the antscannot crawl up the lower faces'of the same.

The ant-trap is also provided with side entrances arranged at sideapertures and composed of upper and lower oppositely-inclined portions18 and 19, constructed of wire-gauze or other suitable material andconnected at theirinner edges to a vertically-disposed plate or guard20, having a horizontal slot 21 and spaced from the bottom of the trap,similar to the end plates or guards 12. The ends of the side entrancesare preferably formed by extensions of the top and bottom portions; butthey may be constructed in any other suitable manner. The upper andlower portions 18 and 19 are also extend ed beyond the vertical plate orguard 20 to provide top and bottom points or projections for preventingthe return of ICO the ants. The side entrance is divided by a taperingapproximately V-shaped piece 23, constructed of sheet metal or othersuitable materialand having inclined upper and lower edges which aresecured to the wire-gauze top and bottom portions of the entrance. Thesides of the V-shaped piece 23 diverge inwardly and reduce the size ofthe exposed portion of the slot 21.

The trap is designed more especially for catching large red ants, andafter the an ts of a hill have been captured they may be destroyed bythe use of scalding water or any other suitable means.

What I claim is- 1. An ant-trap comprising a casing having an apertureat the bottom and provided with a bottom entrance composed of taperedside walls, inclined upper and lower portions spaced apart at theiradjacent edges to provide a passage, and means located at the passagefor preventing the return of the ants, substantially as described.

2. An ant-trap comprising acasing having an aperture at the bottom, anda bottom entrance composed of tapered side Walls, inclined upper andlower portions spaced apart at their adjacent edges to provide apassage, and a guard provided at the said passage with a slot, anddependingfrom the said passage and terminating short of the bottom ofthe trap, substantially as described.

3. An ant-trap comprising a casing having a bottom aperture, and abottom entrance composed of tapered side walls, inclined upper and lowerportions spaced apart to provide a passage, and a vertical plate orguard having a slot to receive the adjacent ends of the upper and lowerportions, and extending above and below the same and terminating shortof the bottom of the trap, substantially as described.

4. An ant-trap comprising a casing having a bottom aperture, and anentrance composed of oppositely-tapered side walls, upper and lowerinclined portions spaced apart to provide a passage and havingprojecting points, and vertical plates having slots receiving theadjacent ends of the upper and lower inclined portions, substantially asdescribed.

5. An ant-trap comprising a casing having an aperture, and an' entrancecomposed of oppositely-inclined portions, means for connectingthe same,and a vertical plate or guard having a slot receiving the adjacent edgesof the upper and lower portions, substantially as described.

6. An ant-trap comprising 'a casing having a side opening, an entrancecomposed of upper and lower inclined portions, a guard arranged at theadjacent edges of the same and an approximately V-shaped piece havingtapered side portions and arranged between the inclined upper and lowerportions of the entrance, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM FREDERICK FINLEY.

Witnesses:

T. W. HEATH,

F. M. OoUoHMAN.

